Providence Resources PLC, an Irish-based oil company that has been digging in every major basin in Ireland, have finally made a big find off the coast of  Barryroe, County Cork with 1-1.6 million barrels of oil found in the Irish Sea.

Further analysis has confirmed that these barrels may have a recovery rate of 27 percent, which means 280 million barrels of oil could be sold, exceeding initial expectations. This could mean additional revenue of billions of euro for the Irish economy should the oil industry get off the ground here.

Tony O’Reilly Junior, the leader of Providence Resources PLC, has hailed his company’s huge discovery of oil and states that it can be nothing but good news for the Irish economy.

Speaking to the Guardian he said, ‘This is very good news for Providence Resources shareholders and the Irish economy. We hope that this is not a single project. From an Irish perspective, we have no oil industry. This heralds the beginning of that industry.’

Northland analyst Andrew McGeary states that these predictions are based on an ‘early prognosis’ but that if an oil industry comes into fruition in Ireland it is ‘very good news.’

William Haderman of irishoilandgas.com claims however that this oil may never touch Ireland. The campaigner states that the barrels could be taken for refinement in Europe meaning fewer jobs ‘on Irish soil’.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan reiterates this statement saying, ‘Oil may be there but there is a limit on how much you can get out, and this is still only a tiny fraction of what would be used.’

Speaking to BBC news, Tony O’Reilly Junior remained in buoyant mood however and maintained that it could mean a resurgence of international companies coming to Ireland . ‘We hope there is a renaissance of interest by international companies who need to come to Ireland and help us exploit our natural resources. We cannot do it alone.’